The clip is from the documentary (Astro)Turf Wars that was released last October

Trailer for (Astro)Turf Wars:

“We are drowning in propaganda, drowning in it. And I’m not speaking figuratively, it’s threatening our lives, it’s cutting off our air. It’s making real democracy all but impossible. It has brought the planet to the point of ecological destruction.” [emphasis added]

and frightened

Just weeks before the release of (Astro)Turf Wars Alternet broke the story of teabagger stalking of news sharing sites and systematically attempting to kill posts and articles by organizations and individuals on their hit list. [I made the list! :-)]

I won’t lie to you, the tea party zealots are just plain scary. Watch the documentary and see if you do not find that they are so convinced of their righteousness that it is easy to imagine them committing any act in the name of their cause.

Granted the documentary is about the phenomenon in the United States, but as John Mashey pointed out we have the same thing going on here in Canada.

Three key points:

Do something about it!

Simply being aware is not enough. If we do no actively counter this assault we can just pack it in now. Some obvious ideas would include:

Hold a tea party, literally (or some brewed substance at least). Buy a copy of the documentary, have some friends over & watch it together. Get them riled up about the assault on their freedom.

Contact whichever government representatives at whatever level and demand transparency from and government review of the phony right wing non-profits. Exposure of the corporate control and manipulation of the astroturf is the most effective way to kill it.

erode their base

I’m hoping that the tea baggers who appear in the documentary are not too typical because I cannot see how one could even begin to talk to them. Regardless, as I have noted before, paradoxically a significant portion of the right-wing base are also our natural allies because as poor and disenfranchised they will be the ones affected first and worst by climate change.

How we go about doing that is a whole other matter, but that does not make it less true. For the moment I would just say that we need to keep that clearly in mind as we contemplate our strategies.

Democracy is already crippled

We aren’t getting out of this mess simply with blogging, petitions and voting. “We need to escalate our methods as well as our energies. Boycotts, hunger strikes, civil disobedience in it’s myriad forms; noncooperation and direct intervention must be the new focus of our actions, of our lives.” The Path of Resistance.

4 Responses

At this next link you will learn how oil and coal industry money is funneled through different foundations to bury the money trail, and “wipe the oil” off of it.
They set up organizations like Policy Communications, The Western Business Roundtable, Partnership for America, and Americans for American Energy, to make it seem like there is this groundswell of grassroots organizations opposing the scientific theory of man made climate change and opposing the move to sustainable energy. These are actually all the same people from the fossil fuel industry and mining industry. They are all staffed by the same executives.

from Desmogblog:
“It’s called “astroturfing” – the setting up of fake grassroots organizations and it’s one of the oldest tricks in the books.
Policy Communications
An energy industry-backed astro-turf network concocted by a single PR/Lobbying firm that is working to undermine the efforts of environmental groups and organizations like the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). that are pushing for solutions to climate change.”http://www.desmogblog.com/policy-communications-inc-astroturf-shell-game

Another example of “wiping the oil’ off the money is how the inaptly named Friends of Science(FOS), had money funneled to what they called the Science Education Fund. The money came from the Alberta oil and gas industry through the Calgary Foundation, who funneled it through the University of Calgary and ultimately ending up at FOS.
FOS has funded Fred Singer, Sherwood Idso, Robert Balling and Pat Michaels.

These 32 organizations have all been involved in the tobacco industry’s campaign to deny the science showing the dangers of tobacco.
They are all now involved in the campaign to deny the science of climate change.

The Koch brothers created #5 and #9 and have their hands in others, including some not on this list.

#24 is Steve Milloy’s aptly named Junk Science. Milloy is one of Fox News’ favorite climate experts. Of course he isn’t a scientist. He’s a PR man and paid lobbyist for fossil fuel interests. He was also involved with pushing for the Citizens United court decision, that allows corporations unlimited political spending, lobbying etc.

Notice some of the Orwellian names.

Citizens Against Government Waste
Consumer Alert
Frontiers of Freedom
European Science and Environment Forum
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis
International Center for a Scientific Ecology
National Legal Center for the Public Interest
Reason Foundation
The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition

“Charles and David, Koch funded not only the Tea Party but also the hydra-headed campaign to undermine the science of global warming, all in the service of even more profit for their oil and gas business.”